Commercial Mold Damage In Downtown Montgomery

10/26/2016 (Permalink)

The open cells in cinder blocks can retain a significant amount of water if the affected walls have equalized with the surrounding environment.

Commercial Mold Remediation

Getting the water out of a structure is often the easy part of clean-up after a flood or plumbing failure. Depending on the building and its construction materials, trying to dry it out and deal with any mold problems can be more time consuming and expensive.

SERVPRO has extensive experience in the downtown Montgomery area dealing with commercial mold damage. Many of the commercial buildings we clean are constructed from cinder blocks which have their own special requirements.

The open cells in cinder blocks can retain a significant amount of water or moisture if the affected walls have equalized with the surrounding environment. This means that the humidity and temperature have become roughly the same inside and out. When that occurs, there is little to no transfer of moisture from the wall to the outside. This is when our technicians may have to drill a series of holes near the bottom of the wall to assist in removing standing water and increase moisture transfer. This is done through the mortar between the blocks which can be easily repaired and patched. If the affected wall has either a gloss or semi-gloss paint on the outside, then this will have to be done as the paint acts as a vapor barrier which reduces transfer even further.

All of this has to be completed before mold can be cleaned and removed. While it may seem that we have to do is leave the wall alone, you have to remember that a mold growth smaller than a pinhead contains hundreds of spores. These spores can escape or grow through even the smallest crack to infect areas of a building that may have even been water free originally. Once the water and moisture have been dried, our technicians will use anti-fungal foggers to destroy the spores in the wall. Then, they will set up exhaust fans and specialized vacuums with HEPA filters to remove everything possible.

Commercial facilities have their own concerns compared to a home, but SERVPRO of Montgomery is ready to support all of our neighbors and fellow business owners. If you notice excessive moisture or have that "musty odor" which indicates the presence of mold, call us today at (334) 273-0992.